Clas Ohlson timeline

Railroad to the parish of Åhl

Siljan railway is built. This makes it possible to travel by train to the parish of Åhl where Clas Ohlson grew up.

1885

A post office opens in Insjön

The new post office in the parish of Åhl is built near the railway station by the Insjön lake. The name of the new postal adress is Insjön.

1895

Clas Ohlson was born

Clas Ohlson is born in the village of Skog in Aspeboda parish southeast of Insjön. His parents are Långbergs Olle Andersson and Marits Britta Andersdotter. After a couple of years, the family moves to Rolandsgården (Roland's homestead) in the village of Sätra in the parish of Åhl.

1902

Clas Ohlson starts working at Åhlén & Holm

Åhlén & Holm is the largest company in the parish at the time. Clas Ohlson is seven years old and starts working as an errand boy.

1914

Clas Ohlson takes over bicycle business

Clas Ohlson's brother dies and Clas Ohlson takes over his bicycle business. The company name is "Spax kammare".

1916

Clas Ohlson gets a summer job in Stockholm

Clas Ohlson gets a summer job at the company Åhlén & Holm in Stockholm. Åhlén & Holm was founded in Insjön but had relocated to Stockholm. This is the first and only time Clas Ohlson works or lives outside of Insjön. Of Stockholm he says: "Living in houses on top of each other is not for me".

1918

Clas Ohlsson & Co. was founded

Clas Ohlson founds the mail order business, Clas Ohlson & Co. at the age of just 22. Clas Ohlson is highly interested in technology and starts selling technical handbooks. The product range is gradually expanded.

1918

Clas Ohlson marries

Clas Ohlson marries Elsa Springfeldt.

1920

The company moves

Clas Ohlson moves the company from the village of Sätra to a small timber house in central Insjön. Both the mail order business and the bicycle repair business fit into the building. However, when the mail order business expands, Clas Ohlson loses interest in repairing bicycles.

1921

Clas Ohlson hires his two first co-workers

Clas Ohlson now has two co-workers. In 1921 the company also moves into a building near the railway station. Clas Ohlson closes the bicycling repair shop.

1923

Clas Ohlson acquires a telephone

Clas Ohlson acquires a telephone for the company.

1924

Clas Ohlson starts building a new head office

Clas Ohlson buys land near the railway station and starts building a three-storey building. The price of the land is 0,4 Swedish krona per square metre.

1925

Clas Ohlson’s head office is built

Clas Ohlson’s head office is built next to the railway in Insjön. The company is located here until 1972. Clas Ohlson and his family lives in the attic.

1926

First store!

Clas Ohlson opens his first store. Mail order is still the core of the business. The company has a rapid growth.

1930

A new home for the family

There is no longer room enough for Clas Ohlson and his family to live in the company building. Clas Ohlson builds a new home for his family.

1938

Clas Ohlson builds a cinema

Clas Ohlson builds the Sang cinema. The cinema closes in 1979. Today, the building is used for accommodation for co-workers

1942

Clas Ohlson builds an annexe

The company needs more space. Clas Ohlson builds an annexe to the head office.

1943

25-year anniversary

Clas Ohlson & Co has now existed for 25 years. The company's slogan is: The trust of the public – our foundation for success". The catalogue is now printed in 150,000 copies.

1944

Clas Ohlson with one "s"

Clas Ohlson changes the spelling of his name. Instead of Clas Ohlsson, the name is now Clas Ohlson. In Clas Ohlson's opinion, Clas Ohlson with one "s" looked better graphically.

1951

Clas Ohlson on the catalogue's cover

Clas Ohlson is on the cover of the catalogue, playing accordion. The accordion was a gift from Albin Hagström on Clas Ohlson's 50th birthday. Albin Hagström was the founder of the musical instrument manufacturer Hagström.

1952

Coworkers travel to southern Europe

All coworkers at Clas Ohlson are invited to a 10-day trip to southern Europe. Clas Ohlson and his co-workers visit Germany, Italy and Lichtenstein.

1956

Another annexe at the head office

The expansion continues. A new annexe is built.

1961

250,000 copies of the catalogue

The catalogue is printed in 250,000 copies. There are 7,000 products in the catalogue and the company has 600 suppliers.

1966

Improvement of the store

Expansion continues. The company's display area and store area are improved.

1967

35 co-workers and 146,000 packages

Clas Ohlson now has 35 co-workers. 146,477 packages are sent from Insjön to mail order customers. The value of each package is 56 Swedish kronor (about 480 kronor in today’s currency.)

1968

Rapid growth - Clas Ohlson has now 60 co-workers

The company grows rapidly. In 1968 Clas Ohlson has 60 co-workers.

1972

New head office and store

The new head office and store next to highway 70 is completed. The building, which also holds the warehouse, is 5,000 square meters. Clas Ohlson has 75 co-workers and 8,000 products in the catalogue.

1974

124,000 people visit the store

After moving to the new building next to trunk road 70, the store's revenue is raised from 445,000 SEK (1972) to 1,2 million SEK (1974). The store has 124,000 visitors during the year.

1975

First computer at Clas Ohlson

In 1975, the company buys its first computer. The accounting, however, is performed manually until the 1980's.

1979

400,000 copies of the catalogue

The catalogue is distributed in 400,000 copies. 200,000 packages are sent from Insjön to mail order customers.

1980

Customer register is computerized

The customer register is computerized.

1989

First store outside Insjön

Clas Ohlson opens its first store outside of Insjön, in central Stockholm. The store is opened on 30 June.

1991

First store outside Sweden

The first store outside of Sweden is opened in Oslo, Norway, on 26 August. By this time, Clas Ohlson is already a well-known name to Norwegians, thanks to the first Norwegian mail order catalogue published in 1985.

1995

First stage of the Central Warehouse completed

The first stage of the Central Warehouse in Insjön is completed in May. The decision to build the warehouse is important to the company as well as the community of Insjön.

1999

Clas Ohlson listed on Nasdaq Stockholm

Clas Ohlson was listed on Nasdaq Stockholm on 5 October.

2002

First store in Finland

The first store in Finland is opened in Helsinki on 14 November.

2006

3,5 million copies of the catalogue

There are now 420 pages in the catalogue, which includes 12,000 products and is printed in 3,5 million copies.

2008

Expansion of the central warehouse

The central warehouse, now called the distribution centre, is expanded to meet increased volumes.

2008

First store in the UK

Clas Ohlson’s establishment in UK begins. The first store opens in Croydon in southwestern London on 27 November.

2009

100th store

Clas Ohlson opens its 100th store, in Motala, Sweden.

2010

New distribution line and expansion of the store in Insjön

A new distribution line is installed at the distribution centre along with an additional high bay warehouse. The centre now has capacity to store 120,000 pallets in total. The store in Insjön is expanded and becomes the largest store in the Group with 3,197 square metres of floor space.

2011

150th store

Clas Ohlson opens its 150th store in, Lahti, Finland.

2012

New e-commerce platform

A new e-commerce platform is launched. By now, it is also possible to shop at clasohlson.com on a smartphone or a tablet.

2013

Launch of Club Clas

Club Clas, our loyalty programme, is launched in Sweden in March 2013. A year later, there are one million members on the club. The company achieves a new milestone in December this year, as monthly sales exceeds 1 billion SEK for the first time.

2014

First franchise store

Clas Ohlson’s first franchise store in Dubai is opened on 30 April.

2015

200th store

Clas Ohlson opens its 200th store in Bergvik, Karlstad, Sweden.

2016

First store in Germany

The first store in Germany is opened in Hamburg on 19 May.

2016

Club Clas has 2 million members

Club Clas is a success. The customer loyalty programme now has 2 million members.

2017

Lotta Lyrå, new CEO

Lotta Lyrå is the new CEO of Clas Ohlson.
“I feel incredibly privileged to have been given the opportunity to lead a company with such strong corporate culture and sound values as Clas Ohlson", says Lotta Lyrå.